Pad holder for motor powered floor machines



P 1969 F. D. SULLIVAN 3,464,075

PAD HOLDER FOR MOTOR POWERED FLOOR MACHINES Filed June 6, 1967 /N l/EA/ 7'02 FQAA/K D. 5ULL/V4A/ 5y H/S ATTORNEYS HARE/5, A7507, RUSSELL 6: K52

United States Patent 3,464,075 PAD HOLDER FOR MOTOR POWERED FLOOR MACHINES Frank D. Sullivan, 1347 Gates Ave., Manhattan Beach, Calif. 90266 Filed June 6, 1967, Ser. No. 643,949 Int. Cl. A471 11/14 US. Cl. 15-98 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pad holder for a floor machine including a horizontally extending, concave, vertically resilient, lightweight metal disc overlying a floor pad and carrying the weight of the machines motor to uniformly distribute the weight over the entire pad.

The present invention relates to improvements in motor powered floor machines and, more particularly, to an improved pad holder for such floor machines.

In conventional floor machines, a housing supports a motor such that its drive shaft extends vertically downward into a lower portion of the housing. When it is desired to use the floor machine to polish the floor, the drive shaft is connected to a holder for a floor polishing pad.

Generally speaking, the pad holder takes the form of a coaxial stack of circular members of decreasing radial dimension. On the bottom is a pad driver which is connected to and supports a wooden base block. The base block in turn supports a wooden spacer block carrying a coupling unit for connection to the drive shaft. The pad driver is formed of a slightly resilient, rubber like material and has a rough bottom for gripping the uper surface of a floor polishing pad when placed thereover.

Thus arranged, the pad turns with the drive shaft overthe top of the floor being polished. As the pad rotates on top of the floor, the operator simply pushes on a handle extending from the housing to move and guide the floor machine along the desired path and to polish a given area of the floor.

Using the conventional form of pad holder, as just described, the weight of the motor beras directly and is transferred almost entirely to the portion of the pad underlying the base block. The outer extremes of the pad, therefore, exert little pressure on the floor and are relatively inefficient in polishing the floor. This means that with the conventional form of pad holder, the effective floor polishing area of a given floor pad is much less than the total bottom surface area of the pad, the portion of the pad outside the spacer block constituting a relatively large portion of the total surface area of the pad. Moreover, since the outer portion of the pad exerts little pressure on the floor, it does not closely follow surface irregularities in the floor during floor polishing operation.

Pad holders of the type described also are relatively heavy and bulky and the wood members included therei are subject to splitting and warping.

Due to the size of such pad holders, it is impossible to machine polish the floors under overhanging baseboards, desks, chairs, and the like.

Due to the weight of such pad holders, the machine operator must exert much effort in moving and guiding the associated machine over the floor. Moreover, the weight of the pad holder poses a direct limitation on the diameter of the pad which can be driven by the associated machine. In particular, all motors have a maximum torque capacity and the larger the weight or mass of the pad holder, the less the weight and mass and hence diameter of the pad which can be driven by the motor. Certainly, the maximum diameter of a pad which can be driven by a Patented Sept. 2, 1969 given motor is less for such a heavy pad holder than if the pad holder were of a lighter weight construction.

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved fioor pad holder which uniformly distributes the weight of a floor machine over the entire upper surface of a pad such that the entire pad will polish the floor with maximum efliciency and will closely follow the contour of any surface irregularities in the floor.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a floor pad holder of the foregoing character which is of a lightweight substantially fiat construction thereby enabling the associated floor machine to be easily moved and guided and to polish under obstructions close to a floor using a pad of larger diameter than was heretofore possible employing conventional floor pad holders.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved lightweight floor pad holder including a spring member for coupling a pad to the drive shaft of a floor machine motor to impart rotation to the pad and to uniformly distribute the weight of the motor over the entire upper surface of the pad such that the pad literally floats over while closely following any irregularities in the upper surface of the floor.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved pad holder for a floor machine comprising a horizontally extending, vertically concave and resilient, metal disc for overlying a pad such that the Weight of a motor connected to a raised central portion of the metal disc depresses the central portion to develop outwardly extending forces to the outer tips of the disc uniformly transferring the weight of the mot-or over the entire surface of the disc and hence to the floor pad therebelow.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved floor pad holder of the foregoing character including a bumper around the periphery of the disc which prevents the metal disc from marring or otherwise damaging floor supported objects which may come in contact with the floor pad holder during operation of the associated floor machine.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved pad holder including a bumper of the foregoing character wherein the bumper comprises a strip of resilient material around the periphery of the disc and connected thereto such that upon engaging a stationary object, it remains stationary therewith while permitting the disc and pad to continue to rotate and polish the fioor.

The foregoing as well as other objects and advantages of the present invention may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed descriptio when considered with the drawing which, by way of example only, illustrates one form of floor pad holder embodying the features of the present invention.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is perspective view of a floor machine including the floor pad holder;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a bottom portion of the floor machine including the pad holder taken along the line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top view taken along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the pad holder similar to FIG. 2 without the pad;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the pad holder illustrating the concave nature thereof;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of an outer edge of the pad holder illustrated in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary bottom view of rubber-like disc forming a part of one form of the pad holder.

In the drawing, the pad holder is represented generally by the numeral 10 and in FIG. 1 is illustrated in combination with a conventional floor machine 12.

The floor machine 12 comprises a housing 14 for a motor (not shown) having a vertical drive shaft extending downwardly into a lower portion of the housing for connection through a conventional coupling unit (not shown) to the pad holder 10. The floor machine also includes an upwardly extending handle 18 adapted to be grasped by an operator to move and guide the machine over a floor to be polished.

The pad holder 10, in its preferred form, comprises a horizontally extending, vertically concave and resilient, thin sheet metal disc 20 having a circular periphery 22 and a central hole 24 therethrough and coaxial with the disc. Due to its vertical resiliency, the metal disc may be termed a spring disc and in the present invention defines a spring member for (1) overlying and coupling a pad 26 to the drive shaft in the floor machine 12 and (2) uniformily distributing the weight of the motor over the upper surface of the pad.

The top 27 of the disc 20 is convex and is connected through a riser 28 to the drive shaft in the machine 12. The riser 28 is of a lightweight metal construction adapted to enhance the concave nature of the disc. To this end, and as most clearly illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the riser 28 comprises a ring 29 having downwardly and outwardly extending feet 30 circumferentially spaced from each other. The bottoms of the feet 30 are inwardly and upwardly inclined at about 3 angles from the horizontal and are adapted for connection to portions of the top of the disc 20 around the central hole 24 by means of bolts 31 extending upwardly therethrough and connecting nuts 32 which tightly draw the central portion of the disc upwardly against the inclined bottoms of the feet (see FIG.

The bottom 34 of the disc 20 is adapted to make driving contact with the floor polishing pad 26. To this end, a flat disc 36 of resilient, rubber-like material, is bonded to the concave bottom 34 and includes downwardly extending pyramid-shaped projections 37 for tightly engaging and gripping the top surface of the pad when laid thereover (see FIG. 7).

In the illustrated form, the pad 26 is of a conventional construction and comprises a substantially flat disc of a nylon material for polishing the floor when turned in response to a rotation of the disc 20 with the riser 28. In this regard, the rotation of the motors drive shaft produces a like rotation of the riser 28 to turn the disc 20. As the disc turns, the diamond-like projections 37 bite into the top surface of the pad 26 causing the pad to turn therewith. As the pad turns it polishes the floor thereunder and is guided with the machine 12 thereover by an operator pushing or pulling on the handle 18 to maneuver the machine over the floor.

Due to the lightweight of the pad holder 10, when compared with conventional pad holders, and due to the vertical resiliency of the spring disc 20, the disc gives with the pad 26 as the pad moves over irregularities in the upper surface of the floor and the pad effectively floats over the top of the floor being polished.

The lightweight nature of the pad holder 10, of course, reduces the over-all weight of the associated floor machine making it easier for an operator to move and guide the machine over a floor. The reduced weight of the pad holder also reduces the load on the motor during floor polishing operation meaning that a smaller motor may be employed to turn a pad of a given size. Conversely, for a motor having a given horse power rating, the floor pad holder 10 and pad 26 may be of much larger diameters than conventional pad holders and pads. This means that greater surface area pads may be employed with the holder 10 resulting in a material increase in the surface area polished upon each turn of the floor pad with a correspending reduction in man and machine hours to polish a given floor area.

As previously indicated, the disc 20 not only provides a means for rotating the pad 26 in response to a turning of at motor drive shaft but also uniformly distributes the weight of the motor over the entire upper surface of the pad thereby creating substantially uniform polishing pressure on the entire surface of the floor under the pad, even at the outer peripheral portions of the pad. This insures that the entire pad will polish with high efliciency and will closely follow irregularities in the surface of the floor.

The concave structure of the disc 20 combines with its vertical resiliency to produce the foregoing features. In particular, when the spring disc 20 is connected to the riser 28 and hence to the drive shaft of the motor, the motor is substantially coaxial with the spring disc. Then, when the spring disc is placed over the top of pad 26, the weight of the motor depresses the central portion of the disc as illustrated most clearly in FIG. 2. As this occurs, outwardly directed radial forces are developed in the spring disc 20 to its outer extremities and the weight of the motor is effectively distributed over the entire disc and hence downwardly onto the pad 26. Because of the uniform distribution of the motors weight to the spring disc and hence to the pad, uniform floor polishing pressures are exerted by the pad on the floor being polished. Therefore, the outer peripheral portion of the floor polishing pad is just as effective in its floor polishing operation as the area immediately under the motor of the floor polishing machine.

It is an additional feature of the floor pad holder that the outer periphery 22 of the spring disc 20 is covered by a resilient bumper 38. The bumper 38 is designed to (I) prevent marring of stationary objects contacted by the pad holder 10 and (2) to reduce loading of the floor machines motor when the periphery of the pad holder bumps into a stationary object. In this regard, the bumper 38 comprises a continuous strip 40 of resilient material having an inwardly facing channel 42 formed therein. The upper and lower lips 44 and 46 of the channel 42 snap over and under the spring disc 20 around the periphery 22 such that the edge of the spring disc extends partially into the channel. Thus constructed, when the bumper 38 engages a stationary object, the bumper remains stationary while the spring disc 20 continues to turn with the drive shaft of the motor.

From the foregoing, it is appreciated that the present invention provides an improved pad holder for a floor machine which holder is lightweight and simple in construction and provides vertically resilient spring means for (1) connecting a floor pad to the drive shaft of a motor and (2) uniformly distributing the weight of the motor over the entire surface of the pad to enhance the uniform polishing characteristics of the pad. Furthermore, since the pad holder is formed of a lightweight metal disc, it is not subject to splitting or warping and allows the associated floor machine to polish under obstructions close to a floor.

While a particular form of pad holder has been described in some detail herein, changes and modifications may be made in the illustrated form without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore intended that the present invention be limited in scope only by the terms of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a floor machine including a drive motor, the combination of:

a horizontally extending pad for riding over the top surface of a floor; and

vertically resilient and horizontally rigid spring means connected to said motor and to said pad for turning said pad with operation of said motor and for carrying and distributing the weight of said motor over substantially the entire upper surface of said pad, said spring means comprising a horizontally extending, vertically concave and resilient, relatively thin lightweight metal disc having a concave bottom face sloping upwardly from its periphery toward a center thereof for flexural motion downward onto a flat top of said pad when a downward force is applied to a central portion of a top of said disc.

2. The combination of claim 1 further including a bumper of resilient material on said periphery of said disc.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said bumper comprises a continuous strip of resilient material having an inwardly facing radial channel for receiving and gripping said periphery of said disc such that said disc may rotate relative to said bumper when said bumper engages a stationary object such as a wall during operation of said floor machine.

4. A pad holder for a floor machine comprising:

a horizontally extending, vertically concave and resilient, relatively thin lightweight metal disc having a concave bottom face sloping upwardly from its periphery toward a center thereof for flexural motion downward onto a flat top of a horizontal floor pad when a downward force is applied to a central portion of a top of said disc; and

motor drive coupling means for connecting said central portion of said top of said disc to a motor in a floor machine such that said disc turns during operation of said floor machine and carries and distributes the weight of said motor over said pad.

5. The pad holder of claim 4 wherein:

said disc is circular and includes a central hole; and

said coupling means comprises a generally annular riser including circumferentially spaced vertically extending feet having radially, upwardly and inwardly inclined bottoms for engaging portions of the top of said disc immediately around said central hole, and means for drawing said disc upwardly and tightly against said inclined bottoms of said feet.

6. The pad holder of claim 5 further comprising pad gripping means on said bottom of said disc including a layer of resilient material having a roughened bottom for frictionally engaging a top of said floor pad to fix said pad to said disc as said disc turns during operation of said motor.

7. The pad holder of claim 6 further including a bumper on the outer periphery of said disc.

8. The pad holder of claim 7 wherein said bumper 15 comprises a strip of resilient material including an inwardly facing channel for receiving said periphery of said disc such that said strip is movable relative to said disc as said bumper contacts a stationary object while said disc is turning.

20 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,650,660 11/1927 Simpson 15-98 X 2,769,994 11/1956 Sutton 15-98 25 1,796,787 3/1931 Hatfield 15-97 3,111,792 11/1963 Legg 51-177 3,264,674 8/1966 Doyle et a1. 15- 328 0 WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner LEON G. MACHLIN, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

